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Gilgaden
Welcome to Gil'ga Den, the empire whose capital is of the same name and when translated into the common tongue means "People of the Sea". The Gilgadenish people have a culture forged by the sea and its coast's dangers and beauties: storms, tidal waves, sunsets and serene vistas. Heading list: #Introduction #History #Geography #Society ##Government ##Class structure ##Law ##Military ##Economy ##Family ##Education #Culture ##Language ##Religion ##Art, music and literature ##Cuisine ##Recreation #Technology Introduction The story focuses on the events and personalities involved in the process followed by the people of Gil'ga Den in selecting their ruler. History Write the second section of your page here. Geography Write third section here. Society Write fourth section here Government Gil'ga Den's form of government is a blend of oligarchy, monarchy and theocracy. In the present day it is an empire and is lead by an emperor, called the Yul , and a balancing clan council, the Yul Hun. The Yul is also the head of the Unia Mor'e, the council of cults. The Yul's position carries great power; but the deep roots of the Yul Hun has provided an important check to the Yul's power. In fact the Yul is chosen by the Yul Hun by way of the Rite of the Four Sagas, the Ko'perin (the way), which by design enlists the gods in the process of choosing the Yul (along with elements of chance and fate). The ruling clans, or Yorna (sing. Yorn), that send representatives to the Yul Hun are deeply embedded in Gil'ga Den's history. Settlements in early Gil'ga Den history were tribal villages. The Yorna effectively ruled their respective villages. As the villages came together for mutual protection and trade the Gilgadenish people expanded their governmental form to include a king, the Eng. Yorn loyalty, though, ensured that their would be a checks and balances. Although the Yorna depended on the Eng for executive decisions and military management they feared that an Eng could become too powerful and threaten the respective interests of one or more Yorna. One key means of limiting power: limit hereditary Engship. A process developed whereby the Yorna came together in a moot to select the Eng. It was natural that the candidates (called Eld; pleural Elda; during the empire stage called Yul Eld(a)) would come from one of the Yorna ranks and to mitigate the natural bias toward the Eng's Yorn an element of fate was infused into the process of choosing. Furthermore, worthiness was also something to be proven. A test of strength and favor from the gods was needed. This initially entailed a journey, a quest, given to the Elda. The first to return having accomplished the task would be the new Eng. The roots of the saga, or Mila, began to grow. And the process of using the Mila to decide the next Eng became know as Ko'perin, or "the way". Initially the Mila entailed a journey across the sea (Mila Den), and thus under the auspices of Oceanus, the god of the sea. However, after several failures (where all Elda died) it was concluded that the other gods in the pantheon must be offended and other Mila, in the jurisdiction of other gods, were eventually added. To ensure all the Elementals (Est, Mela, Thydon and Crucis) were represented, a Mila was planned for each. Mila Den, the water saga (god: Oceanus; Elemental Thydon); Mila Hyragia, the air saga (god: Sarus; Elemental Est); Mila Krigayna, the earth saga (god: Onik; Elemental: Crucis); Mila Igna, the fire saga (god: Revik - god of destruction; Elemental: Mela). The Ko'perin became the Rite of the Four Sagas. Gil'ga Den with its growth in power as a nation eventually grew into an empire. The Eng, as a concept, was eclipsed by the Yul. And the Yorna Moot became the Yul Hun. As a polytheistic people, the Gilgadenish spiritual landscape has always been complex. Have no doubt; the gods are real. Furthermore, the gods are jealous, and as described above, embedded deeply in the process by which the ruling class has formed. The priest class, Unia (sing. Uni), therefore, has been intimately associated with the power in Gil'ga Den. During the Engship era the Unia Mor'e (council of priests) was fairly separate from the Yorna (in terms of shared hierarchy). During the Yulship era (currently), the Yul has become the de facto head of the council, or Ren Unia Mor'e (known less formally as the Ren). In other words, the Yul is the head of the "church", so to speak. And because the Ko'perin is a divinely influenced process, the Yul is in essence vetted, or chosen, by the gods; the Yul is a god-man. Where do the common people fit in to the power tapestry? The gil'gren (lower people, gren for short - used as a singular and pleural term and to apply to a person(s) or family(ies)), have tended to favor the Yul over the Yul Hun. Sure, a gren family must support its lord, the Yorn upon whose existence it depends and to which its loyalty goes without saying (it is more complex than that: there are yeomen, or freemen, see gil'gren). However, the Yul Hun is a rather remote entity to a gren. The Yul is well aware of the "mob" factor and will occasionally make an appeal (via a festival, tournament or other market-based or entertaining event) to the gil'gren when there is disagreement with the Yul Hun. The Unia class is made up of mainly Yorn men and women and some gren. The "church" is not really a check on either the Yul or Yul Hun in principle. After all, the gods permeate all aspects of mortal life. However, in reality, and at different times, the Unia Mor'e can tend to side with one or the other "branches" of government. Gil'gren also can become Unia. In fact, the only realistic opportunity to climb in societal rank if one is a Gren is in the church. This can add yet another variable to whether the Unia Mor'e favors the Yul or not. In terms of governing bureaucracy there is only the Yul (the Unia Mor'e has an extensive bureaucracy but this is not an "official" governing body). The Yul Hun have only a simple staff of scribes that record some proceedings and handle some correspondence. The Yorna members who sit on the Yul Hun tend to act individually (and each may have their own scribe(s)) and see the Yul Hun as a forum in which to share opinions or generate consenus about a particular issue. There is no official "vote" that is generated by the Yul Hun. Not all Yul Hun members, known as Iolanora (sing. iolanor), are created equal. It is always an honor to sit on the Yul Hun, though. Each Gil'yorn (clan member, pl. gil'yorna) who serves as an Iolanor does so using his or her own funds. There is no Yul Hun budget. A Yul Hun scribe is typically a young gil'yorn who is sent by a Yorn family to serve the Yul Hun; it as an honor and usually a means to build one's career in politics (and hence, further the influence of a particular Yorn). The Yul, on the other hand, utilizes a fairly developed administrative body made of a wide variety of functionaries. These range from gil'yorn, gren and slaves. Financing still must come from the Yul's holdings. These of course also originally stem from the Yorn from which he or she came. Furthermore, the Yul can tax. An Iolanor cannot. Unia Mor'e is an entirely different matter in its tithing capacity. It is especially the taxation apparatus that obviates a bureaucracy to maintain it. The Yul is not only the head of the Unia Mor'e he or she is the top justice official. The Yul Palabra is the highest court in the land. Gil'ga Den is empire and the Yul sits atop a vast array of feudal holdings. These are complex because the Yulship changes hands (the term of a Yul is until death). In other words, the overlord changes (unlike in a particular Yorn's line of ascesion). Moreover, the Yul always comes from a Yorn and this can potentially be disruptive. In essence, the overlordship of these holdings changes its ties from Yorn to Yorn. If there happens to be interyornicine conflict this makes for fertile ground for intrigue. The Gil'ga Den empire is divided into tax districts (called Ris'kadera; ris = tax, kader (pl. kadera) = district(s)). Each Ris'kader is akin to a province in other nations and Yorna can have their holding(s), or Faalna (sing. Faaln), within one or more ris'kadera. Thus, ris'kader have a many-to-many relationship to Yorna. A ris'kader is always managed by a Yul appointed official, called a Ris'kader Elan, or Elan for short (obviously, a prominent Yorn in that kader would apply substantial pressure on the Yul in the appointment process). The staff size that manages the ris'kader corresponds to the types and numbers of assets in the district. It is almost always the case that the Elan is also appointed the senior most military officer for the ris'kader. If the ris'kader is sufficiently large and/or complex the Elan with appoint a steward, a Ris'kader Alar (pl. Alara; short: Alar(a)), to manage the financial (tax) dimensions of the district and the Elan will focus more exclusively on the military responsibilities in the district. It should be pointed out that justice is NOT handled in the same jurisdictional distribution as the tax districts. The feudal system of Yorn-based adjudication has deeper roots than the empire. The Yul Palabra (an evolutionary step from the Engship era when it was just called the Palabra) is the highest court; the lower courts are managed within the holdings of the Yorna. Typically, a Yorn's highest court is called the Yorn Palabra. The number of lower courts can vary in terms in a given Yorn; in fact, each Faaln can have its own court, called a Faaln Palabra (a Yorn usually has many Faalna in an often complex myriad of feudal arrangements; in fact one lord who considers himself in a particular Yorn may also have feudal responsibilities to another lord in another Yorn; this can make meting out justice a complex process!). See Law. The tithe system, or Ko'baarn'qa Unia ("The giving to priests"), is even more complex given the number of cults in Gil'ga Den. Through a very convoluted, and secretive, scheme the Unia Mor'e controls significant financial assets. And the Yul, as Ren, is atop this as well. See Religion. The Yul, therefore, has overlordship relationships to all the tax districts, the judicial territories, and cults; and, of course, the Yul is the most senior military officer in the empire. The Yul is powerful indeed. The Yorna are painfully aware of the potential for an over-reach by an especially strong Yul (which has happened in the past). Culture Write fifth section here. Technology Write sixth section here.